Amusement Parks in Louisiana

Glee-seekers can present their Groupon at the admission ticket booth before spinning on the Tilt-A-Whirl, knocking bumper cars, or gliding down the 40-foot fun slide in addition to enjoying more than 10 other timeless amusement-park rides. Hop on the Ferris wheel for sky-skimming panoramic views, or climb aboard the miniature train for a leisurely tour through picturesque City Park. Stop by the historic wooden carousel to ride on the well-known “flying horses” and reminisce about simpler times when animals were all carved from gilded logs before coming to life. Next to the amusement park, smaller children can wander in wonder around Storyland, which brims with more than 25 larger-than-life playground pieces inspired by well-known children's stories and rhymes. Little ones and non-Lilliputian folk alike can climb aboard Captain Hook’s pirate ship, step into the mouth of Pinocchio’s whale, or dash up Jack and Jill’s hill without losing costly crowns.

Since 1984, Shreveport has paid tribute to a cherished Louisiana tradition—the crawfish boil—with its annual Mudbug Madness Festival. As many as 56,000 people flock each day to what has blossomed into one of the state’s most popular Cajun festivals, where they nosh on succulent seafood and compete in crawfish-eating contests that encourage participants to test their stomach size and sabotage their opponents by sneaking lobsters into their bowls. “One year, we had a man eat 42 pounds of crawfish in 30 minutes,” marvels festival coordinator Melanie. “We’ve cut it down to 15 minutes since then.” In addition to eating crustaceans, attendees can also lure them across the stage during crawdad-calling contests. “It gets really lively,” Melanie says, describing how the sirens-in-training are allowed to do nearly anything they can think of to entice the crawfish into their reach. Cajun, zydeco, and jazz tunes waft through the air during the festivities, emanating from three stages helmed by headliners such as Wayne Toups, Rockin’ Dopsie, Jr., Super Water Sympathy, and Windstorm. The rhythms reach the ears of shoppers browsing original artwork and handmade jewelry in the arts area, expanded after previous years' success. On Thursday, local athletes can work up an appetite in the 5K race. Children of all ages burn off energy in the kids' area, where they can somersault in the bounce house, tackle art projects, or plop down in front of a stage where magicians and storytellers keep their young minds off the uncertain fate of lollipop futures.

Open 364 days a year, Kart Ranch entertains Baton Rouge– and New Orleans–area families with a variety of outdoor games and activities. Engage in family-friendly adrenaline pumping by zipping around the tire-laden go-kart track, or test the buoyancy of your brood by squirting each other to splashy submission on the outdoor bumper boats. Batting cages are smartly covered to allow players to practice pitches through rain, shine, and plagues of squirrels, while the adventure golf course sports soothing waterfalls and fountains as players go head-to-head for par-gaining rights. Activity tickets can also be used toward kiddie karts, water wars, and playground admission, while game tokens can be used toward arcade and skill games, which in turn reward tickets that can be exchanged for prizes such as toys, candy, or self-propelled laser doomsday howitzers.

Tiki Tubing Tiki Tubing furnishes relaxing and refreshing excursions down the waters of the Amite River, providing a respite from the Louisiana summer swelter. In kayaks or single or double inner tubes, patrons recline as the gentle current whisks them downstream like a frog perched atop a school of loyal tadpoles. Tiki Tubing also rents out flotation devices designed to keep coolers afloat, allowing adventurers to sip from cool beverages as they soak up the sun.

Adventure Quest Laser Tag feeds fun glands in a futuristic facility that houses a 6,000-square-foot, multi-level Mayan-ruin laser-tag arena that provides ample obstacles to duck and dive behind while avoiding the crosshairs of fellow competitors' phasers. You can also choose a session of bumper cars, in which children learn the tenets of seatbelt safety and the lifelong importance of owning a superabundant bumper, or cosmic golf, with nine holes of ancient obstacles illuminated by black light. Adventure Quest Laser Tag provides a customizable day of family fun, supplanting wrestling sessions for the remote control, greased-up chicken-chasing races, and greased-up wrestling sessions against remote-hoarding chickens.

Gators and Friends Alligator Park and Exotic Zoo invites all ages to watch gators wrestle each other in the water and chomp down their meals. The zoo was established in 2006 to raise awareness about the habits and survival techniques of wild animals, giving visitors a better understanding of all creatures, from alligators to pet hamsters to the turtles who fight crime from the sewers. The facility doesn't just contain reptiles, either; it also keeps kangaroos, capybaras, goats, and a Scottish cow.